Monthly Archives: January 2014

Seahawks vs Broncos – Who is Going to Win the Superbowl?

31 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by in Allrecipes.com, Burger, Video

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

You guys! This must be the most I’ve ever talked about football….EVER!  But with all honesty, the talk is all centered about the food associated with the Superbowl, and especially with the two teams that are in the playoffs this year: Seahawks (Go Seattle!) and Broncos (I do love the color orange).

Before you claim you seat on the couch to watch the game this Sunday, I wanted to share two more videos that our Video team at Allrecipes.com produced this week.

First, check out this video for a flavorful Seahawk Burger that proudly represents Seattle with Starbucks espresso, Washington wine, and Beecher’s cheese.

Now, how do you think it’d stack against the Bronco Burger?

Cast your votes, and let’s see who is going to win the game this Sunday.  Go Seattle!

Allrecipes Builds a Snack Stadium – See How

28 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Allrecipes.com, Snacks, Video

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

snack stadium allrecipes

The snack stadiums are popping up everywhere these days.  Football fields filled with guacamole, hummus, and nacho dips, surrounded by chips, crackers, sandwiches, and maybe carrot sticks and celery sticks for a healthy measure.

Of course, we at Allrecipes.com had to build our own.   It was certainly a team effort from planning to assembling, to recording.  And how fun it was!  No worries, we donated most of the leftovers from the stadium and made lots of hungry people happy.

snack stadium allrecipes 2

Ready to build your own?  Take inspiration and direction from our video.

Savory French Toast

24 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by in Bread, Breakfast, Brunch, Cooking, Recipe

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Savory French Toast

Before I grew up into loving sweet French Toast, enjoying the custard soaked thick slices of challah bread, sometimes dusted with confectioners’ sugar or dunked into heated maple syrup, I remember gobbling up bites of Savory French Toast.  I was still a child, and if memory serves me correctly, this dish was prepared by my Dad for special weekend mornings.  I’m sure my Mom has made that as well a time or two.

This is my take on this childhood recipe – Savory French Toast.

Ingredients

2 eggs

2 tablespoons half & half

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 Brioche slices

1 tablespoon olive oil

Serve with: smoked salmon, cucumber and tomato salad

Directions

1.  Whisk together eggs, half & half, milk and the spices.

Image

2.  Coat brioche slices in the egg custard.

3.  Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat.

4.  Cook brioche  3-4 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through.

Image

If you are looking to add more flavor, consider sprinkling the toast with grated Parmesan cheese and watch it melt!

Image

Image

Back to Snacking in the Kitchen

Aside

Beast Mode Vodka ~ Seahawks Football

16 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by in Allrecipes.com, Drink, Seattle, Video

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

beast mode vodka seahawks cocktail

It’s not every day that the Allrecipes.com video team searches for Skittles candy at 8:30 am.  We were, however, on a special assignnment to make the Video for the Beast Mode Vodka to celebrate our local football team ~ Seahawks!

Do I admit that I don’t watch football?  Do I admit that to me, “football” still means “soccer”?  Do I admit any of this?  Perhaps, I do not.

Instead I will admit to how fun it was to separate 9 large bags of Skittles Darkside candy into the Seahwaks blue and green colors.

Image

If you are a fan of Seattle Seahawks and want to make this flavored vodka to cheer during the game, do follow the recipe.  If you happen to cheer for a different team, you could use a different color of Skittles to match.

Ready for the video?  Check out the Allrecipes production of this Beast Mode Vodka Recipe:

Back to Snacking in the Kitchen

Homemade Juice ~ Live Healthy

15 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Allrecipes.com, Healthy, juice, Kale

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

Today is the last day to enter my Suja Juice 3-day cleanse giveaway.  I wish luck to all of you – you have until 5pm Pacific Time to enter.

While I sadly can’t give the juice to everyone who has entered, I would love to share with you a few of the homemade juices videos I styled for Allrecipes.com.  These are simple to prepare and will give you a wonderful boost of energy and vitamins.

Tropical Carrot Apple Juice

Carrot and Orange Juice 

Healthy Green Juice 

Be sure to check out the rest of the videos for homemade juice here.

Back to Snacking in the Kitchen

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

12 Sunday Jan 2014

Posted by in Cooking, Gluten Free, Recipe, Soup

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup
Time for soup again.  Butternut squash has been a regular on the soup rotation, and this time, I cook it together in coconut oil with onion, celery, carrot and a spiced mix of curry, cayenne and cumin.  This smooth, earthy, slightly spiced soup was the background for the Curried Roasted Chickpeas I shared with you earlier this week.

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
4-6 garlic cloves
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
4 cups chicken broth (use vegetable for a vegetarian version)
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Image

Directions

1.  Melt coconut oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat.

2.  Add onion and spices and cook until onion begins to soften and spices release their fragrance, 5-7 minutes.

3.  Add squash, carrot and celery; cook another 5 minutes.

4.  Cover with chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer the soup until the vegetables are soft, 30-45 minutes.

5.  Puree the soup until smooth and season with salt and ground black pepper to taste.

And don’t forget to make a batch of Curried Roasted Chickpeas to go along with the soup.

Image

Back to Snacking in the Kitchen

Curried Roasted Chickpeas

06 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by in Gluten Free, Healthy, Paleo, Snacks, Vegetarian

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Curried Roasted Chickpeas Hungry for a snack?  Give these Curried Roasted Chickpeas a try for a healthy, protein and fiber rich snack that works equally well as a garnish, a salad “crouton” and a pizza topping.

I first tried roasted chickpeas when my sister, the talent behind Mango Tomato was visiting and prepared a batch of these irresistible morsels.  A few years later, I create my own version.  Best part about it?  You get to play with your favorite spices and seasonings to create the best version for you.

Curried Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and dried
1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Image

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2.  Mix together all ingredients and transfer to a baking sheet.  Spread into a single layer.

3.  Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes until chickpeas are crisp.

Image

You know what’s better than a single tray of these Curried Roasted Chickpeas?  How about two or three?  I’d recommend making multiple batches at the same time, perhaps playing with the spices for each batch.  You might just find these to be more addicting than potato chips.

Here’s a sneak pick of what I paired along with these chickpeas.

spiced butternut squash soup recipe3

Back to Snacking in the Kitchen

Aside

Suja Juice 3-day Cleanse Giveaway

02 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by in Healthy, juice, Kale

≈ 46 Comments

Tags

, , ,

SUJA Juice Cleanse Giveaway

Happy 2014!  As the year rolls in, so are the resolutions for the happiness, healthy eating, more exercising, less stressing and more sleep.  Have you made your resolutions yet?  I personally tend to avoid making resolutions, but fully support getting more hours of sleep, eating a few more pieces of fruit and vegetables, and smiling more in the New Year.

If you are short on fruits and vegetables in your daily diet and wanted to start the year with clean eating, you are in for a treat.  After personally trying a 3-day Suja Juice Cleanse myself, I will be giving away a 3-day Juice Cleanse to one of you!

SUJA Juice Cleanse Giveaway

The 18 bottles of juice arrived at my door packaged as a present.  Each of the 16-oz bottle is dairy, soy and gluten-free, non-GMO, Vegan, and Kosher and Organic certified.  I was off to a good start!

SUJA Juice Cleanse Giveaway

The box included full insturctions for the Juice Cleanse as well as complete description and ingredients for each of the juices, the daily schedule of juicing and helpful tips and suggestions.

One of the things that makes Suja Juices stand out is the fact that they undergo High Pressure Pascalization instead of heat.  This process enables the juice to stay safe, yet raw, keeping the most essential vitamins from fruits and vegetables.

Truth be told, I was both excited and anxious to start on the cleanse.  Three days without solid food?  Could I really do it? Would the juice taste good?  Would I be hungry?  What about headaches?

I began by labeling the juice bottles in order of the consumption and by meal (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, dessert).  Just looking at the amount of juice I was to consume daily, I felt as though hunger will not be an issue.  And I was right.  Honestly, I did not feel hungry.  I did though miss the act of chewing food and experiencing different textures.

Every single one of the juices were delicious, in their own right.  The Glow, Fiji and Green Supreme, packed with  kale, spinach and celery, tasted healthy and gave me a boost of energy.  Sweetened with apples, they had a pleasant, light taste.

My favorite two juices, by far, were the Purify and Fuel.  Purify, with a combination of carrot, apple, celery, beet and lemon was a gorgeous crimson red color and slighter thicker than the other juices, giving it a pleasant mouthfeel.

SUJA Juice Cleanse Giveaway

The Fuel juice, my favorite color – orange, packed with carrots, oranges, apple, pineapple, lemon and turmeric was bright as sunshine.  I would be happy to drink a bottle of it on daily basis!

SUJA_juice_Cleanse_carrot

Results?  I battled with mild cases of headache throughout the 3 days, though the symptoms did decrease at the end.  Drinking more water and getting a few extra hours of sleep helped me to feel better.  So did the idea of eating solid food in the near future.  By the end of the cleanse, I honestly succumbed to the desire, and ended the cleanse one meal earlier.

What I learned is that I don’t require as much food to be satisfied and not-hungry as I thought I might.  I also learned how different all juices taste and how truly delicious Suja juices are.  Having juiced myself in the past, I have also come to appreciate the convenience of the Suja juices.  Come already packaged and ready to consume, there was no need for grocery shopping, cleaning fruits and vegetables and most importantly cleaning the juices.

Are you ready to juice?

For your chance to win the 3-day Suja Juice Cleanse giveaway please do the following, and leave a comment on this post when finished.

I will announce the winner on January 15th.

1. Leave a comment on this post why you would like to win the giveaway and what is your favorite juice.

2. Follow and share the link to the post on Facebook, tagging Snacking in the Kitchen and Suja Juice .

3. Follow and share the link to the post on twitter, tagging @snackingkitchen @sujajuice.

4.  Follow on instagram @snackingkitchen @lovesuja

The participants must be a legal resident of the United States with a valid address, no PO box please.  The juice cleanse will be shipped directly to you.

Good luck!

Disclaimer: I have received the 3-day Suja Juice cleanse at no cost and was not compensated for this post.  All opinions stated in the post are my own. I was under no obligation to write the post.